Operation Restoring Hope

Operation Restoring Hope (26 March 2015-) is the second phase of Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen during the Yemeni Civil War. Following the termination of the four-week Operation Decisive Storm campaign of airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and their Gulf States allies, Saudi Arabia decided to launch "Operation Restoring Hope" to find a political solution to the civil war, announcing the end of airstrikes. However, airstrikes and the naval blockade actually continued, and several civilians were killed in airstrikes by the Royal Saudi Air Force and their Gulf allies.

Prelude
From 26 March to 21 April 2015, Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Gulf States began a bombing campaign against the Houthis following their February 2015 seizure of power in Yemen, installing a Shia government in the country. The Shia powerhouse of Iran now had an ally to the south of its Sunni rival of Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni Persian Gulf countries, and Saudi Arabia and its allies decided to intervene in the civil war between the Houthis and the government-in-exile of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Hadi's forces controlled southern Yemen and were besieged in Aden by the Houthis, so the Saudis made it their objective to lift the Siege of Aden by pounding the Houthis with bombs and forcing their fighters back. "Operation Decisive Storm" saw the Royal Saudi Air Force bombard the Houthis from the air while a blockade of the Gulf of Aden also took place, and 78% of Yemenis were in urgent need of food, water, and medical aid as a result of the blockade. Commercial shipping was blocked and only a few aid ships were allowed in, but no Iranian vessels were allowed past the blockade. On 21 April 2015, the Saudis declared an end to "Decisive Storm" and their airstrikes, claiming that they were now going to pursue a political solution.

Campaign
The airstrikes and blockade continued, however. Saudi airstrikes killed hundreds of Yemeni civilians, and the Saudi air force destroyed the main runway at the Sana'a International Airport to prevent an Iranian Red Crescent plane from arriving with medical supplies to help starving Yemenis, and Iranian ships and planes were still banned from the country. On some occasions, the US Navy and Iranian Navy faced off against each other, with US ships taking part in the blockade. The pro-Hadi forces succeeded in pushing the Houthis back from Aden, and they pushed north towards the capital of Sana'a. Saudi Arabia continued to receive criticism for the inaccuracy of its airstrikes, some of which hit wedding parties or other civilian gatherings, and for their refusal to allow foreign aid workers to enter Yemen.